Translation guide
The English word 'hall' covers several distinct spaces. This guide helps learners choose the right Japanese word depending on whether they mean a corridor, a large room, an entrance area, or a public building.
A long, narrow space connecting rooms, like in a school, office, or home.
The most common word for a hallway or corridor inside a building. Used in schools, offices, apartments, etc.
Please don't run in the hall.
Means passageway or aisle. Can be used for corridors, but often implies a functional passage, like in a train or store.
A big room used for meetings, concerts, ceremonies, or dining.
Loanword from English. Used for concert halls, event halls, wedding halls, etc. Very common.
The space just inside the front door, like in a house, apartment, or public building.
A dormitory or residence hall at a university.
Dormitory, student hall of residence. Commonly used for university or company housing.
A large, impressive house in the countryside, often historical.
廊下 is a corridor, 玄関 is an entrance hall where shoes are removed, and ホール is a large room for events. Don't use 廊下 for a concert hall or 玄関 for a corridor.
The corridor is narrow, but the hall is spacious.
English 'hall' covers many concepts. Always think about the function of the space before choosing a Japanese word. Using ホール for a corridor will cause confusion.
There's someone in the hall outside the room.
Please keep the hall to the emergency exit clear.
The concert hall was full.
There's a lecture at the civic hall.
Refers to a public hall or meeting place, often part of a larger facility. Used in names like 市民会館 (civic hall).
The wedding will be held in the hotel hall.
A large hall or banquet room, often in traditional Japanese inns or old buildings. Sounds somewhat formal or traditional.
We had dinner in the inn's great hall.
The entrance hall of a Japanese house or apartment, where you take off your shoes. Also used for building entrances.
Please take off your shoes in the hall.
There's a delivery box in the apartment hall.
Lobby or foyer, used for hotels, theaters, office buildings. More public than 玄関.
Let's meet in the hotel lobby.
Loanword for entrance, often used for stylish or modern building entrances.
The museum's entrance hall is spacious.
大学の寮に住んでいます。
I live in a university hall of residence.
Specifically a student dormitory. More explicit than 寮.
The student hall is near campus.
A mansion or stately home. Can be used for historical manor houses.
The hall was built in the 16th century.
A grand mansion, emphasizing size and luxury.
A country mansion is sometimes called a hall.